Revenge Is Sweet
by tgwWhale
Summary: Sequel to "The Green Monster." Read that one first! Now Kisshu wants revenge against Ichigo and the Mew Mews! Ichigo and the Mew Mews want revenge against Kisshu! Minto and Berry want revenge against Ichigo! Oh, how sweet it is!
1. Low Hanging Fruit

_This story is a sequel to "The Green Monster." It does not make much sense unless you have read that story first. The story is set within the year after the conclusion of "Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode," which introduced the character of Mew Berry. Thus Ichigo and her friends are about 15 years old. Berry is about one year younger, while Zakuro is about five years older and Pudding is about 5 years younger._

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**

**The Tokyo Mew Mews**

**In**

"**Revenge Is Sweet"  
**

**Chapter 1: Low Hanging Fruit**

Minto sighed as she poured Berry another glass of champagne. Berry had gotten drunk again. She was doing it every meeting, now. It was rather funny to see, because Berry couldn't handle alcohol at all, and when she got loaded, she said and did such stupid things. She would spill drinks on herself, and would make such a fool of herself with silly and childish insults of Ichigo. But it wasn't all fun. The last time she had gotten this drunk, she had wet herself.

These meetings of the Hate Ichigo Club didn't mean much any more. Yes, they still hated Ichigo, even more than before. But now that they had been expelled from the Mew Mews and fired from the Café, they never saw that red-haired skank. And after Ichigo had returned from Lovatron, all of their plots and lies had been exposed. Now the other Mew Mews hated them. Even Lettuce, who didn't hate anybody, would not speak with them. Their friends were gone, their jobs were gone, and their fame as superheroes was gone.

And Zakuro was gone. Minto had never seen her since she and Berry had been thrown out of the Mew Mews, on that horrible night when Ichigo had made it back from Lovatron and had taken her revenge by beating up both Mint and Berry. Poor Berry had thought that she could lick Ichigo in a fair fight! Minto shook her head at the memory. Ichigo had pounded Berry half-senseless in less than a minute. In fact, Mint had feared that Ichigo would kill the foolish blonde, but she had backed off before anyone had to stop her. That ugly, over-muscled skank! How Mint hated her! She had ruined everything! Now Mint never got to see the love of her life, at least not in the flesh. She still had every movie, every music video, every magazine or internet article she could find that even mentioned her glorious dark-haired idol. But Zakuro had told her that she never wanted to see Mint's face again, because she and Berry had betrayed that stinking Ichigo to Kisshu. Zakuro had said that she would never forgive Minto!

Yet Minto still loved her, and always would. She sighed again, and poured herself another glass of champagne. She spilled it badly, and thought: she was quite drunk, too. She wondered when her parents would find out that she was drinking so much. Her old _Baaya_ had already figured it out, but she kept her mouth shut. It would be different when her parents found out; then Minto would pay a heavy price. But until then, she thought, it would help her forget the misery of her life. At her feet, her little dog, Miki, growled. Apparently he, too, thought, she was drinking too much. But Mint didn't care. She raised the glass to her lips.

Then she thought she saw the air shimmer. Was she that drunk? She looked at the drunken, giggling Berry, who was pointing behind Mint. Mint turned her head, and in a second or so her eyes focused. Someone was there!

It was not one of her parents, fortunately. It was a young man, a tall, slender young man with green hair, pale skin, long extended ears, and strange amber eyes that had narrow-slit pupils, like a cat's. It was an alien! Mint knew him, to be sure: Kisshu.

Minto struggled to her feet, reaching for her pendant as she did so. She had been expelled from the Mew Mews, but she still had her magical pendant. But as she did, the alien smiled wickedly, and spoke in a teasing voice, "Mind if I join you?"

Mint still touched her pendant while the alien strutted up to them. He always seemed to strut around Mint. He thought so much of himself! But Mint decided that she would have little chance against him anyway if she tried to transform, and so she said with a thick, slurred voice, "Please join us, will you?" There was another glass there, and Minto managed to pour the champagne without spilling it this time. Then Kisshu helped himself to a chair, sat back, and raised the glass to his lips.

Again he smiled wickedly. "Well, I see Ichigo's enemies are still together, and well." He chuckled. "Sort of well, anyway." Berry looked at him and giggled, not catching that Kisshu had just made an insulting comment about how drunk the two girls were.

Berry just kept giggling, and so Minto knew she would have to do the talking. So she swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and tried to say something sensible. "Ah, Kisshu, why are you here?" She frowned. "As if I don't know."

"Yeah, why?" Berry slurred the words badly, and Minto shook her head. The blonde airhead was pathetically drunk.

"So you think you know?" the alien answered, slyly. "And what would the reason be?" He took another swallow from his glass.

Mint snorted. "How dumb do you think we are? We know it has something to do with a certain red-haired skank, one you can't stop obsesh… er, obsheshh, ah, uh, ob-sess-ing over." She could get the word out, if she said it slowly enough.

Kisshu laughed. "That little slut? Please! I have a hundred fangirls back on Lovatron who are 'way better than that little turd."

Again Mint snorted. "Don't waste your time. We know who you're after. Well, she's not here. So you can leave. Go to the Café Mew Mew, maybe she's there."

But the alien just kept smiling wickedly, and he finished his glass of champagne. "No," he said. "I have no use for that pig. Never did."

Mint rolled her eyes, or tried to. "Never did? And that's why you kidnapped her and dragged her back to Lovatron, and why you kept her as a sex slave and raped her every day – because you didn't care? You doofus! You just can't keep your mind off her, can't keep your hands off her, can't keep your…" She shut up before her remarks got too off-color.

"All lies!" the alien retorted, and his amber eyes blazed. "It was she that wanted me, she that wanted to get out of this pathetic, loser world of yours, and away from that dull child of a boyfriend of hers. But when I took her to Lovatron, she found she couldn't compete with the girls up there, and so she got jealous. And she somehow got word to the losers back here, to come and get her and get back at me. But I just kicked them all back here, including that red-haired witch."

Minto openly laughed at him. "You really are a freaking moron, if you think we'd believe that! Do you forget that we were there when you kidnapped her – when she fought you and bit you and kicked you? She would have gotten away, too, if we hadn't grabbed her and held her for you. And now you say she wanted to go? Please… you are so full of crap that I'm about to barf just hearing your stupid story. I told you, she's not here. Go to Café Mew Mew. You know where it is."

The alien's eyes grew wild, and Mint again reached for her pendant. She was frightened, now, and Berry was almost completely passed out and would not be any help if the alien attacked. But Kisshu calmed himself – with great effort – and muttered, "And I told you, I didn't come here to get that ugly skank."

Mint snorted yet again. "Then why did you come here? Why come all across space? Who do you want?"

Kisshu's mouth twisted. "Not who, moron. What."

"Then what?" Mint demanded. She was really getting tired of the alien's silly games.

"Think, fool!" he said. "What is the one thing that this worthless world has that we don't have?"

Mint shook her head. "I don't know. Skanky cat-girls?"

"No, moron. Mew Aqua. Got it? That's what I need," Kisshu said.

"Isn't that what they brought out there to exchange for the skank? Yes it is!" Mint answered her own question. "So you got it. And you had some left over after we did in Deep Blue, too." Mint's mind was beginning to clear a bit and she was thinking hard, trying to figure out the alien stalker's game. Then suddenly she said, "I think I got it. Pai and Taruto bought back the Mew Aqua, and you didn't, because you were too busy having your way with the skank. And now they're bigger stars than you are, and you can't take it."

Kisshu jumped up out of his chair, and raised his hand to hit Mint. She just laughed. "Bingo! I nailed it, didn't I! Poor little alien, not the star any more, and he can't take it."

Kisshu slapped her face, but she just laughed more. "Well, we don't have any. I thought they had some at the Café, but they traded that for the skank. Unless they have more by now – well, go ask them. No one else has any!"

Kisshu seethed with anger and his pale face rapidly turned red. He raised his hand to strike again, but suddenly Berry's voice stopped him. "Hey, didn't, ah, didn't… ah, what's-her-name, uh, Zakuro have, uh, some?" Berry was so drunk she could hardly talk.

Mint started and her eyes flew wide open. That idiot Berry! So Mint said, as quickly as she could, "No! She ah, she… had some, I think, but she turned it in to Ryou a long time ago. Yeah, that's it. She gave it to, ah, Shi—ro, ah… ga-ne." She got the name out, sort of.

And Kisshu smirked again. "The blond fool?" he said with a smirk. "Well, I'll have to see him."

"Yeah," Mint said. "Go see him, and leave us alone."

But Kisshu didn't leave. Instead, with an even bigger smirk, he strutted up to Mint. "No, not quite yet," he said. Then his arms encircled her waist, and his lips smothered hers!

Mint at first struggled against this. She didn't want him, she didn't want any man! At their feet, little Miki, sensing his master in distress, growled again. But a swift kick from the alien sent the mutt flying, and he did not even break the lip-lock with Minto.

Mint tried to again push him away, but she was much too drunk. And his lips were so warm… His hands danced over her body, caressing all kinds of places where they should not have gone. He was _so _sexy, so good at this! His tongue wrapped around hers, and then he tore off her pendant and threw it aside. Now Mint knew what was happening, but her head was spinning, and she had no strength to resist. "No! No!... No…" she gasped. Her voice trailed off, smothered by his lips.

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It was past nine in the morning when Minto awoke with her dog, licking her face. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, almost completely undressed, and her head pounded wildly, as if someone was beating it with a rubber hammer. She lay there for quite a while, trying to remember the night before. She could remember Kisshu, and some horrible things. She was afraid, but she checked herself.

And the horrible things were true.

Mint gasped, and began crying. How could this have happened? It was the wine, of course. She had been so drunk, so helpless. She shook her head a little, and she felt her stomach start to heave. She got her feet on the floor and staggered to the bathroom, trying to hold it down for just a few more seconds.

And there on the bathroom floor lay Berry, face-down in her own vomit. She had little clothing on her, either, and her arms and body looked hurt and bruised. Mint emptied her stomach into the toilet bowl, and then got on the floor, and shook her friend.

"Berry! Berry! Please wake up! Please! Berry!" she screamed.

She burst into tears and wailed loudly.


	2. The Morning After

**Chapter 2: The Morning After**

Again Mint shook Berry's body, and again there was no response. Was Berry dead? Mint gasped wildly as her tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to force herself to think. Should she call 1-1-9? Berry needed an ambulance. But then they would be caught, and what could they say? If Berry was dead, Mint would be blamed. If Berry wasn't dead, if she made it, then at least Mint would be blamed for giving her the alcohol. And if they checked the DNA on Berry and found it wasn't human – and it wasn't – what would happen then? And what would Mint's parents do, when they found out?

And what might have disturbed Mint more than any of the other issues was that Berry was pretty much the last friend she had in the world. If Minto lost her, she would have… nobody. She gasped and bit her lip in fear. And that hurt; for the first time she realized her lip was injured. There was a puncture wound – a wound from the alien's fang. Mint gasped again, now in desperation. What could she do?

For Berry still was unresponsive. Mint was touching her, and she thought: Berry isn't stiff, and she's not cold completely, so maybe she's still alive. But she wasn't exactly warm, either. She wondered what had done this to her; was it the alcohol, or was it Kisshu, or was it both? If she died, and it was alcohol poisoning, then Mint would be guilty of murder. If it was what Kisshu had done to her, what could she tell the police? What could she tell Berry's father?

She felt Berry's wrist for a pulse. Mint didn't have a bit of the nurse in her; she had no natural instinct for healing. But anyone could check for a pulse. And so she felt Berry's wrist; she felt nothing! Now she was in a panic, and she took the other wrist, and felt; but again, she felt nothing. Where, she thought, do you feel for a pulse? She tried to remember, but she had never paid much attention in health class. Where? Where?

She felt her own wrist, and she felt nothing there, either. A sudden terror tore through her mind. Was she dead, too? Was this hell? She felt again, pinching her wrist harder. And then, she felt something: right there, the tips of her fingers could feel her pulse. Then she took Berry's wrist again, and felt it the same way she had felt her own.

Was there a pulse there? She thought she could feel something. She squeezed harder, moved her fingertips, squeezed harder again. And there she was sure: there was a pulse. It was so weak, but it was there! Berry was alive!

Alive for now, Mint thought. But she was cold and probably getting colder. She was failing, poisoned by too much alcohol and shocked by the trauma of being violated by that wicked alien. Mint thought hard. She had to warm the girl up, or she would probably die. She knew that she should call emergency, but she was so afraid of what would happen! She thought to put Berry into bed and cover her up, but her own cold body wouldn't heat itself well enough. Or Mint could warm her with her own body – maybe. But then, what would happen if the maid came in and found her in bed with a nearly-dead girl? No, that would not do!

Then she had a thought: the tub. She ran to her tub – it was of the expensive whirlpool variety – and turned on the water. She tried to get it warm enough, but not too warm, and then let it fill while she ran to Berry's still form. She lifted the comatose girl from the congealing puddle of her vomit, and dragged her to the tub. Mint was not overly strong, but her dancer's body was toned and taut, and desperation gave her the strength that she did not know she had: she lifted Berry and placed her in the tub quite gently, and let the warm water flow around her.

She could see, now, that Berry was breathing, though the breaths were very shallow. Mint took a washcloth and began to wipe away the barf from Berry's face. Her hair was full of it, too, but that could wait. She cleaned up the poor girl and then turned on the whirlpool jets, and the warm water bubbled up around Berry's body. Mint pushed the blonde hair away and felt Berry's forehead. Surely, the body was getting warm, was it not?

And, then Berry's eyelids opened a little. Mint shook her. "Berry! Wake up. Please!"

And suddenly Berry's eyes opened. They were bloodshot and clouded with pain, but they were open. It took her several seconds, but her eyes focused, and then, weakly, she gasped, "Where am I?"

And Minto shrieked for joy: "Berry! You're alive!" And she bent over the tub and hugged Berry's head.

It took Mint several seconds to let go, and then, as she pulled back, Berry asked again: "Where am I?"

"In my bathtub," Mint answered, smiling. "Berry, you were so close to dying…"

"Dying?" Berry mumbled, staring at Mint with blood-speckled eyes.

Mint took Berry's hand. "It's morning, Berry, and I found you on the bathroom floor lying in your own barf. And your body was so cold, I was afraid you were dead! But you had a pulse, and I put you in the tub to warm you up, and you woke up! You're alive!"

"So I'm at your house, yet?" Berry asked. Mint nodded, and Berry asked, "What happened last night? I don't remember…"

Mint was stunned. It was the first time she had encountered someone with an alcohol-induced blackout. "You don't remember? Do you remember coming to my house for a meeting of the Club?"

Berry was silent for several seconds, and then she spoke slowly. "My head hurts." She was silent for several more seconds before continuing, "Yeah, I remember coming, and we were drinking again. But after that…" Her voice faded away.

Mint tried to speak in a soft voice, though it was hard for her. "Berry, do you remember that… that Kisshu showed up? The alien?"

Berry stared into space again for several seconds. The only sound was the quiet hum of the pump motor and the soft wash of the bubbling water around Berry's form. Then she said, "Yes, maybe, sort of, Kisshu…"

Mint bit her lip. She would have to say something. "Berry, this is going to scare you. Do you remember what he did, did to you?"

The blonde girl just slowly shook her head – it hurt far too much for her to shake it quickly.

And Mint's voice choked up as she whispered, "Berry… we were both so drunk. He raped me, Berry, and I think he raped you, too…"

What little color there was in the blonde's face vanished. "Raped…?" Then she screeched, _"Raped?"_

Mint held tightly to her friend's hand. "Well, like date rape, I mean. We were so drunk, we couldn't put up any resistance. You don't even remember it happening. He just took what he wanted…"

Berry began gasping, and tears trickled down her cheeks. "Oh, Minto. Minto!" She gasped again before continuing. "Minto, I was a virgin, I was saving myself, and now…" She began crying as wildly as her weakened body could cry.

Mint held her hand tightly. "Me, too, Berry-chan. He robbed me of it, too."

"Minto, what if we're – pregnant?" Berry choked the words out.

"Pregnant?" Mint gasped in return. She hadn't even considered that. She shook her head, and answered softly, though her teeth were gritted tightly. "Berry, we're different species, really different, so I don't think… I don't think… I _hope_ we can't be…" Her voice trailed off.

Again there was silence for a while, before Berry asked, "Minto, what did he want? Why did he come? Just to…" Her words stopped.

Mint thought for a second. "No, I remember. He was trying to find some Mew Aqua."

"Well, we don't have any," Berry muttered. "Only Shirogane, and Zakuro…"

Mint was stunned. Zakuro! The drunken Berry had told the alien that Zakuro had some Mew Aqua! She was in danger! "Onee-sama!" Mint squealed. "Berry, that alien monster might go after her! I have to warn her!"

Minto started chewing her lip, hard. She had to warn Zakuro, but she had no way of contacting her. She would have to go to the Café Mew Mew, and maybe they would tell her how to get to Zakuro, or at least warn her themselves. But Berry still needed care, and a lot of it. She couldn't leave Berry like this, but she had to go to the Café. She was sure that if she called them, they would not speak to her. She had tried more than once, trying to get in touch with Zakuro, and they had brushed her off, abruptly.

Then she knew: it was over. She could keep her secrets no longer. She squeezed Berry's hand tightly, and said, "Berry, I have to go and warn Zakuro. But I can't leave you alone. I'll get _Baaya._ She won't talk, and she'll take a lot better care of you than I could." Then she threw on some clothes and raced out the door. She was a mess but she didn't care.

Her _Baaya_ was standing at the base of the stairs, and Mint knew that she was waiting, with her infinite patience, for the girls to come down, so she could clean up the wreckage of yet another of the girls' drunken escapades. She never showed any emotion; but this time she did, and her eyebrows rose ever so slightly when she saw the disheveled mess that was the always-perfect Minto. Mint's hair fell into her eyes, and her face was marked up, and whatever makeup was left over from the previous night was in ruin. But the woman's voice was level as she spoke. "Good morning, Minto-sama."

Mint was gasping for breath. "Come up, _Baaya._ Quickly! Hurry!" The old lady never hurried at anything, but she obeyed. She ascended the staircase, but before she entered Mint's chambers, the girl stopped her.

"_Baaya,_ listen to me – carefully!" Mint said. "Last night, Berry and I drank too much champagne…"

The old lady lowered her eyes and shook her head the slightest bit – a devastating insult from her. And Mint understood what her _Baaya_ meant: she and Berry _always_ drank far too much.

But Mint did not have time to feel shame. "Well, when we were drunk, this guy came, and he… he raped us both."

The old woman snorted. Never in all her years at the Aizawa mansion had she done such an insulting thing to any of the family. But Mint understood. Her _Baaya_ thought that Mint was lying, covering up for her messing around while drunk.

And Mint's voice became hard. _"Baaya,_ it really was rape. I really said no. Really! But I was too drunk to resist, and Berry was so drunk that she doesn't even remember. He hardly had to force himself on us – there was no resistance." Mint did not say how sexy she had found the alien when she was in his arms.

The old lady stared into Mint's eyes for quite a while, and then said, "So, it was easy for him. Just plucking the low-hanging fruit, as they say. Still, I will call the police."

But Mint's voice grew very hard. "No! You are not to call the police, and you are not to tell my parents, or anyone else, ever. This isn't what you think it is! The one who raped us was – well, he wasn't human."

The woman snorted openly, now. And she shook her head. "When your parents find out that you gave up your virginity in a drunken orgy, it will be the end of you. You father will disown you, to be sure. And that will be just the beginning of your punishment."

Mint was angry, now. _"Baaya!"_ she barked. "You are not to tell anyone! This isn't what you think! The one that raped us was an alien – I mean, a space alien. And don't you snort and shake your head at me! There are things here you know nothing about. Nothing!"

The old lady wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She still believed none of it.

So Mint took her by the shoulders. Minto was not tall, but the old lady was even shorter than Mint. _"Baaya,_ do you know what a Mew Mew is?"

The old lady's face was down, but her eyes opened, and she looked up at Mint. And Mint continued, "Well, I'm a Mew Mew, a magical girl, and we fight space aliens and the monsters they make. And you can think that's crazy all you want, but it's true."

The old servant looked at Mint again for a long time. Then she said quietly, "A year or so ago parts of this house were wrecked, mysteriously. Your father thought it was some kind of sabotage by business rivals. I didn't."

And Mint spoke, in a quiet voice just above a whisper, "The first time, it was a chimera anima – one of those monsters the aliens make. The second time, it was another Mew Mew."

Again the old lady was silent. Then she said, "What do you need me for?"

And Mint looked deeply into the old woman's eyes. She knew: she would have to trust her. So she said, "I have to go and warn the other Mew Mews about this alien. But Berry really got hurt last night. When I found her this morning, she was all but dead. Her body was half-cold! I put her in the tub to warm her up, and she came to, but she's a total mess and she really needs to be taken care of and I have to run to the Café Mew Mew, and so…" Mint took a deep breath. "And so, you have to take care of Berry, and get her put back together, and get her home. And don't tell anyone! Ever!"

The elderly woman slowly nodded, her face as inscrutable as always. Did she believe a word of what Mint had said? Mint did not know; but in a sense, it didn't matter. Zakuro was in danger, and Mint had to warn her. Nothing else mattered. Nothing! So she opened the door, and taking the old woman by her hand, led her through the door and into the bath suite, where Berry still lay in the bubbling tub.

And the old _Baaya _immediately knelt beside the tub, and her gentle instincts took over as she began to caress and clean up the battered and heartbroken girl. Minto watched for just a second before she slipped out of the door.

The quickest way for her to get to the Café Mew Mew was to fly, so she had to find her pendant. She was the only Mew Mew that could fly, and that would be a big advantage, now. She remembered where Kisshu had taken her down, and she vaguely remembered that he had pulled her pendant off and thrown it aside. It would not be hard to find, she thought. But when she looked, it was not there on the floor. Nor was it under any furniture. And Berry's pendant was nowhere to be found, either.

Mint was panicking. That damned alien must have stolen their pendants after he stole their virginity. And she had to get to the café quickly! She knew what she had to do. She raced down the stairs and ran to her father's study, where she opened the top right drawer of his desk. There were the keys to the Aizawa family Mercedes. Her father always got a ride to work in the company limosine, and her mother had her own car. No one would miss this car if she took it! She was too young to drive, but she had driven before. She took the keys and ran.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
**

_Author's note: Lest anyone complain about a "mistake" I made, the emergency number for an ambulance in Japan is in fact 1-1-9, not 9-1-1 as in the US. At least, that's what the internet tells me._

_As for Berry's body temperature: I knew personally of a case where a teenager of about the age of the characters in this story consumed far too much alcohol, and when her father found her and rushed her to the hospital, her body temperature was down to 93 degrees (F). At the hospital they pumped the kid's stomach and warmed her up, and she came out of it OK. In the story Berry doesn't need her stomach pumped, because she has barfed everything up.  
_

_- tgwWhale_


	3. A Completely Worthless Failure

**Chapter 3: A Completely Worthless Failure  
**

Minto forced herself to take a deep breath. She had nearly backed the car out without opening the garage door! She had started it, and thrown it into reverse, and started backing, when she suddenly noticed and rammed on the brakes. The car had stopped with the bumper a millimeter or two from the door! She shifted back to park before reaching up and touching the opener, and the door slowly opened. She would have to be more careful, but she had to hurry. Her beloved Onee-sama was in danger. Maybe she was too late already!

Finally Mint was able to back the sleek black Mercedes out of the garage, and she threw it into drive and turned down the long driveway. The garage was behind the house, and the driveway wound around the house to Mint's right, and then swung back to the left towards the center of the property before finally swinging back right and again and heading straight to the front gate. She cut the last turn back to the right too short, and drove over the lawn there, crushing a flower bed and making a mark on the lawn. The gardener would be most angry about that; but Mint didn't care. She had only one thought: she had to warn Zakuro.

At the end of the driveway she swung left and headed down the hill. She drove much too fast, but she managed not to hit anyone or anything. After three blocks the road intersected a main thoroughfare, and Mint had to brake much too hard for the stop sign. She was so nervous that her breaths were coming in gasps. She was too small, really, for that big car. And she was much too young. She told herself she had to be more careful, because if she got caught by the police, she would be in big trouble. But more than that, if she got caught by the police, no one would get the warning to Zakuro!

So she was more careful as she turned left onto the main thoroughfare. She had to continue on this road for about half a mile before she would turn right and take an even more busy street down toward the section of town where the café was. Then she would turn right onto a small side street. If she could get that far, she knew she could make it to the café, for the streets down that way were old and quiet, and she knew them like the back of her hand. But it would not be easy for her to get that far.

The street she was on had two lanes of traffic going in each direction, and all the lanes seemed packed with vehicles going much too fast. She thought that the farthest-left lane was supposed to be for slower traffic, but quickly a long line of cars and trucks piled up behind her. She knew she had to drive faster, but she could hardly keep the car in its lane at the speed she was driving. And then it began to rain.

Mint managed to find the wiper switch, and she kept going. She had to warn Zakuro! And finally she neared the intersection where she had to turn right. There were actually three streets that intersected there, and she had to turn onto the second of the two crossing streets. The first street had two lanes in each direction, while the second had three. And at each intersection there was a roundabout. Minto hit the first roundabout. There were arrows on the pavement showing which lane was needed for going in which direction, and she thought she was in the correct one, but there were cars coming at her from all over, and the truck behind her was honking its horn, and the rain was coming down harder. She got through that first roundabout, though, and approached the second. Too late she saw that she was in the wrong lane to turn right! She tried to move over, but a car came speeding around the roundabout, and she had to ram on her brakes as she jerked the car right…

BANG! She hadn't even seen the delivery truck that smashed into her right rear. But on the wet pavement, the back of her car slid to the left on impact, and she spun into the farthest-right lane. BANG! A white Toyoda sedan in the far-right lane crashed into her driver-side door, crushing it in. Mint's body was thrown wildly about, and she was held in only by her seatbelt. Then, BANG! Another car hit the Toyota in the rear, and BANG! a red sports car piled into the delivery truck. And the Aizawa Mercedes, or what was left of it, spun onto the divider in the middle of the roundabout, where it finally came to a stop.

Minto sat stunned. Her body was bruised by the seatbelt, and by the damaged door that got crushed in on her. She slowly reached up and touched her face, wondering if she would feel blood. She did not; her face and head seemed OK. She became aware that someone was pounding on the window, trying to get her out of the car. But the door was locked, of course. She feebly reached for the switch that would open the door locks. Would it still work? The doors on the driver's side – the right side – were completely smashed and surely would never open.

She didn't hear the locks click; but the passenger door was jerked open, and someone released the seatbelt and started pulling her from the vehicle. It hurt when they pulled on her arms, but she was too stunned to protest. They dragged her through the passenger door, and suddenly she was sitting on the ground in the rain. The rain was cold, but it helped revive her. How long had she sat there, stunned? She had to get to Zakuro! She managed to stand and tried to get back into the car, but they would not let her. People were all around her, and several drivers from the other vehicles were screaming in her face. But she had to get to Zakuro! Zakuro was in danger! She tried once more to get back into the car, but again, they would not let her. The rain kept falling all around, and in the distance Mint heard the wail of a police siren.

Then suddenly she was fully aware of what had happened. She would never get to the Café now. She had failed Zakuro. She fell to her knees and burst into tears.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **

Minto sat in the dimly-lit room with her head down. She had never endured anything like this before. The police had come, and of course she had had no driver's license to show them. She was almost three years under-age. So they had taken her, and brought her to the police station, and questioned her. Who was she? Where did the car come from? Who owned it? What was she doing driving at her age? They said that the accident was her fault, that she had made an "illegal lane change." She – or more properly, her family - would be liable for all the damages. She wondered if her father's insurance would cover the cost. At least no one had been badly hurt, the police said. She was the most banged-up of anyone involved.

Minto had had to tell them who she was, who her parents were. That meant, of course, that she would have to face her father. At least her mother was out of town for the day. But she had wrecked the family Mercedes. The police had told her she would be charged with underage driving, illegal lane change, and a few other things. They had given her a breath test for alcohol. They had said that there could be criminal charges! She, Aizawa Mint, fabulously rich and beautiful heiress, budding prima ballerina, might be going on trial! And then, to prison! And she would have no defense. Every accusation against her was true, and obviously so. Her life was over, ruined.

But what tortured her most of all was that she had failed to get the Café. She had failed to get any warning to Zakuro. What would that alien pervert do to her, if he found her? It did not even occur to her that Kisshu might have gone to the café, might have gone after Shirogane to get Mew Aqua. All she could think of was that he might go after her beloved Zakuro. How could so much have gone so wrong in one day? She had lost her virginity and lost her magical pendant. She had wrecked the family car and ended up under arrest. And she had failed Zakuro utterly. She was a total failure, the most wretched excuse for a human being upon the face of the earth…

Then the door opened, and two people entered. One she recognized as the policewoman who had been keeping custody over her. But it was the other that frightened her.

The other was her father. He walked up to her, and she made herself stand before him. His eyes were so hard that they seemed made of black stone.

"Minto!" he grunted through gritted teeth. He was trying desperately to control his anger. Then he turned to the policewoman. "May I speak to my daughter alone?"

The woman nodded, but added, "Yes. Remember that this room is under video surveillance." Then she left, leaving the door open.

Mint's father turned back to her, once again gritting his teeth. "I have spoken to them. They will release you into my custody, and I will take you home. You will be fined for moving violations: driving without a license, illegal lane change. But there will be no criminal charges."

Mint squirmed. She was waiting for the explosion, but it did not come. Instead, her father simply asked, "Are you sure that you are not seriously hurt? The police said no one had to be taken for medical care."

Mint nodded. She surely looked like a disaster: hair disheveled, face marked, makeup destroyed. But she managed to say: "I was bounced around a little bit – OK, more than a little bit. But I'm OK, really." Actually, she had been bruised quite a bit by the seat belt and shoulder strap, but she didn't care about that. She desperately wanted to avoid the emergency room, because if she got any kind of serious examination, they might discover what Kisshu had done to her the night before.

Her father nodded, and grunted again, half under his breath: "Then come with me. I've already signed the papers."

So in silence Minto followed her father out of the room. Her father said a few things to the policewoman, and then led her out the front door, where her father's gray business limousine was waiting. He all but pushed her into the limo, and climbed in after her; and then the driver drove off, heading back for the Aizawa mansion. Minto was shocked when she saw the clock on the dashboard. It had seemed as if she had been in the police station forever, but it was not yet three o'clock in the afternoon.

Her father pushed a button, and a privacy screen rose between them and the driver in the front. And then, as Mint had feared, the grilling began.

Her father shook is head. "You are so fortunate… that I have connections, that I know people, and that this is Japan, and things work this way." He looked at her. "The alcohol… will not go in the record." Then his finger poked her in the shoulder. "Where did you get the booze? When did you drink it? Did you drink before you went out, or did you get loaded last night and then burp it up today, before you drove the car?"

Minto would not look at him. She stared at her hands on her lap, and half-whispered, "I drank it last night. I… know someone at the liquor store, he sells me champagne."

"What's his name? What store?" her father demanded; but Minto would say nothing.

Her father's face grew red with anger. "So, you won't rat the bastard out? Well, I have ways of finding those kinds of things out." His hand took her arm and squeezed it far too hard. "Why the hell did you drive the car? Why not just take the bus or the train?"

Minto would not look at him. "I was in a hurry," she said.

The explosion came, and her father began screaming. "In a hurry! You could have called a freaking taxi, you certainly have the money! Don't you see, you could have been killed!"

Minto still stared at her hands in her lap and would not look at her father. "Getting a taxi would take too long," she muttered. "A friend needed me, and the car was the fastest thing I could get." She would say no more, and said not another word all the way back to the mansion, no matter what her father screamed at her.

Yet finally, they made it home, and her father dragged her from the limousine. He marched her through the back door and up to her suite, and there he confronted her one last time. "Never has anyone brought such shame to the Aizawa family! You're nothing but a common drunk and a petty criminal! I can't believe my daughter is so worthless!"

At the word _worthless_ she finally looked at him, but still she said nothing. Her eyes, though, were filled with defiance.

He turned away from her, trying to control his anger. "You have been a failure at school. You took a job as a common waitress, and hung around with the worst kind of vulgar fools." At the words _vulgar fools_, Mint's eyes blazed, for she thought of Zakuro, the least vulgar, most special person in all the universe. But her father was facing away, and did not see the anger in her eyes, at first.

But then he suddenly swung back, and saw his daughter's eyes. In his rage he slapped her across the face, and cursed her, and shouted, "Yes! Worthless! At least my son is a true Aizawa. But you…" He said nothing more to her.

Then he turned away and shouted, "_Baaya!_"

The old lady came, hurrying as fast as she could. Yet even when she hurried, she seemed to move with infinite slowness.

Her father swallowed hard and tried, one last time, to control his anger. Then, through gritted teeth, he spoke: "_Baaya_, this worthless child is confined to her suite. She is never to leave it, except to go school. She is not allowed any visitors, ever. See to it that she never comes out through that door."

The old woman was quiet for several seconds, and then spoke without the slightest hint of emotion in her voice. "Aizawa-sama, is she to be let out for her ballet lessons?"

Her father turned a deeper shade of red. "NO!" he screamed. "I've wasted far too much money on such frivolous nonsense! She gets out for school, and nothing else." He shook his head. "And never again take any instructions or commands from her. Ever! Or you will be looking for new employment. Do I make myself clear?"

The old servant spoke once again without emotion. "Yes, sir." She kept her eyes lowered.

Then Mint's father again turned back to her, and pointed to the door of her suite. And without a further word, Mint obeyed. She passed through the door, and closed it behind herself.

And her father turned one final time to his elderly servant, and said, with much bitterness: "_Baaya_, I will be late for dinner tonight. I have wasted this entire day getting my worthless drunk of a daughter out of jail, and keeping her name out of the papers. I may be working all night, so don't prepare anything for my dinner." Then he stormed past her, charged down the staircase, and stomped out of the front door.

And the old servant stood in silence for several minutes. She had served the Aizawa family for most of her lifetime, starting with the current master's grandfather. She had never seen such an outburst in all of her years. Things were bad, she knew. Things were bad with Mint.

And then she thought: she needed to tell Mint that she had gotten her friend Berry home, and the girl seemed none the worse for wear when she had finally gotten home. That was good, and a small bit of good news was something that might cheer up Minto-sama at least a little. And though Aizawa-sama had commanded that Mint never come out of her door, he had given no orders forbidding _Baaya_ to go in. So she tried the door. It was locked, of course; but _Baaya_ had the key. She opened the door and looked for the girl.

But the girl was not there. The old lady looked through the suite of rooms, but they were empty. This perplexed her at first, until she saw the bedroom window open. She hurried over – as much as she could hurry at all, and looked out.

It was a second-floor window, but she could see the flowers in the bed below it trampled. Minto had fled through the window, and had not hurt herself too badly on landing. She looked out across the property, and saw a single small figure running toward the back gate. And she sighed; that girl was certainly obsessed with getting somewhere. She wondered if Mint were running away. Perhaps she was; and she thought of calling Mint's father. Then she decided against that; there had been anger enough already. And Mint hadn't been carrying any bag for traveling. _Baaya_ thought that Mint, if she left for good, would not leave her stuff behind – at least not her jewelry and other valuables. No, thought the old lady, I will not call him – at least not unless Mint does not come home this evening.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

_Author's notes:_

_The minimum age for driving in Japan is 18, or at least that is what the internet tells me. Minto is 15 at the time of this story._

_I do not know if roundabouts are used in Japan, or if they are common. What I do know is that there is a place of special torture in hell reserved for the evil son of a [female dog] who invented those [expletive deleted] things._

_- tgwWhale  
_


	4. An Ugly Confrontation

**Chapter 4: An Ugly Confrontation  
**

Mint paid the cab fare and turned her back to the taxi. Before her stood the ugly pink building that was the Café Mew Mew. She hated that place, and she hated the thought of going in there. But it was the only way she knew to get a message to Zakuro. So she swallowed hard, brushed her hair back with her hands, and squared her shoulders. By this hour, she thought, the place would be open, and likely she would find Keiichiro there. She had wanted to come earlier, not only because she was so desperate to get a warning to Zakuro, but because none of the girls she so hated would be there before the place opened. But now, she supposed, it was too late in the day. Now her enemies might be there: the silly and foolish child Pudding, the sickeningly sweet and revoltingly phony Lettuce, or even the one she hated most of all: the repulsive, ugly, pathetically vulgar fool Ichigo. It was far too much to hope, or even to dream, that her beloved Zakuro could be there. But no matter who was there, she had to go in. There was no other way she could think of to contact her beloved idol.

As she approached the door, she saw a sign that said, "Closed." This was good; maybe only the guys were there. She was sure that they would be easier to deal with than the girls. So she took a deep breath, and tried the door. It was not locked.

Mint blinked as she entered; it was much dimmer inside than out. The main room was empty. She slowly crept across the room, threading her way between the tables, heading for the kitchen door in the back. She stopped for a second as her eyes focused upon the table that had been her favorite, the one against the left wall where she used to drink her tea and make sure that those other fools would properly get their work done, where she would drink her tea and watch her beloved Zakuro… Then she shook her head. That part of her life was over, gone! And good riddance to it, she thought!

Then the kitchen door opened, and someone came through: red hair, a dumpy figure, a pathetic school uniform. It was that revolting skank, Momomiya Ichigo. There was no one in the universe Mint could hate more than that pathetic loser, she thought. But then she realized: there was _one_ that she hated even more!

The red-haired skank looked Mint over, and said a single word in a voice that dripped with disgust: "Minto."

And Mint stared at her enemy, not retreating an inch, and looking down her nose as best she could (for her rival was noticeably taller than she was). She muttered the hated name: "Ichigo."

The other girl reached for her pendant, and Mint did the same; but the redhead had one, and Mint did not. Yet the other did not transform, but instead walked slowly up to Mint, getting so close that Mint fancied she could smell the girl's vile breath. And then the skank said, "You are not welcome here, traitor."

But Mint would not back down, nor would she be goaded into a fight. She had to warn Zakuro, and nothing else mattered! So she swallowed hard, and said, "Are the guys here? I need to speak with them, or one of them."

But Ichigo shook her head. "I'm the only one here," she said.

Mint looked down. Would she have to deal with this disgusting, vulgar creature? But yes, she thought. She had to get word to Zakuro! And so she said, "Then I need to talk to you. I need to get word to Zakuro-san."

But the skank shook her head. "Zakuro made us promise that we would never reveal her location, her phone number, her address, or anything else about her to you. She said she would never forgive you for betraying me to Kisshu, and she meant it. And you know that when Zakuro becomes your enemy, she never forgets and never forgives."

Anger flashed through Mint's dark eyes. "Listen, fool. Zakuro is in danger! I have to warn her!"

But the Ichigo shook her red head. "In danger, how? The biggest danger she's been in has always been from you."

The flash of anger in Mint's eyes became a roaring blaze. "You stinking bastard! I loved Zakuro! And she knows it! I would never hurt her! And she knows that, too!"

There were sparks aplenty in Ichigo's violet-gray eyes as well. "Love? You don't know what it is. You lust for her, you desire her. But if you loved her, you would act for her happiness. And she's told you over and over that she doesn't want to be in your arms."

Mint all but spat on the floor. "And you you're the expert on love? You pathetic little fool!"

Ichigo stared straight into Mint's eyes. "I have talked long with Zakuro, and she has revealed much of her heart to me. She told me that she's told more to me than to anyone else, ever." She shook her head at the exploding jealousy in Mint's eyes. "Minto! Don't you see, it's because she feels safe with me that she can talk to me. She doesn't feel safe around you, because she knows what you want. You're jealous because I'm Zakuro's friend. But you never wanted to be her friend. You wanted to be her lover!"

Minto's small fists clenched. She didn't have her pendant. All she could do is attack the skank physically. How dare she even think to call herself a friend of the glorious Zakuro! Mint would show her! Yes, the skank was bigger and stronger than Mint. But Mint would take her down, and then Zakuro would know…

But when the name Zakuro crossed her mind, she remembered why she was there, putting up with the ugliest skank in Tokyo. And so she gritted her teeth, and forced the words out: "Zakuro's in big danger. It's… it's… Kisshu. He's back."

Ichigo's face changed suddenly at the mention of the alien's name. "Kisshu?" she gasped, as her eyes flew wide open and her already-red face began turning purple in rage. "Where? How…"

Mint shoved her finger into her rival's face. "He came to my house last night. Berry and I were there. We were…"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed somewhat. "You were drinking again, weren't you?"

"And what do you know about what I do?" Mint demanded.

Ichigo shook her head. "You forget Lettuce talks to me. I doubt that day she got wasted at your place was the only time you brought out the booze."

Mint lowered her eyes. "Yeah, we were drinking. And Berry was really blasted. She can't hold her wine at all. Well, suddenly that damned alien teleported in…"

"Just Kisshu, or were the other two there, also?" Ichigo asked.

"Just Kisshu," Mint muttered. "He pretty much invited himself to join the party. I think he likes champagne. I figured he was after you, so I said you weren't there, and sent him over here. But he said he wasn't after you…"

Ichigo snorted openly and rolled her eyes And Mint continued, "Yeah, that's what I did, too. He gave this big cock-and-bull story about how he never wanted you, that you begged him to take you, blah, blah, blah. I knew it was all lies, of course. But finally I got him to say what he really wanted. He said that he wanted Mew Aqua. I said that if there was any left, it would be here, but then that drunken fool Berry blabbed that Zakuro had some. I tried to say that Zakuro had given hers up to Shirogane, but I doubt he believed me. And so now Zakuro's in mortal danger, and I have to warn her!"

"Are you sure he's going to hurt her?" Ichigo asked. "Though after what went on up on Lovatron, I agree with you – I think he'd hurt her to get what he wants."

"He would," Mint said bitterly. "I know. You see, after he found out about Zakuro and all, I told him to leave, but before he went, he… he…" Tears began streaming down her cheeks, and her breath came in gasps.

"He what?" Ichigo demanded; but then her mouth dropped open, and she asked, "He didn't…"

And Minto closed her teary eyes, and dropped her face, and said in an agonized whisper, "He took me down. He… raped… me." She gasped for several seconds, trying to get her breath, and then she finished, "And when he was done with me, he raped Berry, too."

"Why didn't you fight him?" Ichigo demanded.

Mint looked at her with disgust, and shook her head. "We were too drunk, we couldn't resist. And he's so damned sexy when he's like that. And Berry was so drunk that she didn't even remember it this morning. I was a virgin, you know, and Berry, too. He stole our virginity – and he stole our pendants, too, on the way out. Some trophies from his conquests, I suppose."

Ichigo gritted her teeth. "I was a virgin, too, you know, when you betrayed me to him. And I wasn't drunk when he ruined me."

Mint just looked with empty eyes at the red-haired girl. "We must warn Zakuro," she muttered.

"I'll call her!" Ichigo said, and she pushed a button on her cell phone. She waited, but nothing happened. Then she shook her head, and spoke: "Zakuro? Ichigo. Listen, you're in danger. Kisshu's back, and he raped Mint and Berry, and we think he's after your Mew Aqua. Watch out, and call me as soon as you get this message."

Then she closed the phone. "Just her voice mail," Ichigo said. "That's normal when she's working - she turns her phone off. She's making another film now."

"Where is she?" Mint asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo answered. "Sometimes they're at the studio, sometimes on location." She looked down. "But Lettuce might know."

"Why Lettuce?" Mint demanded.

And Ichigo said, "Often, now, she lets Lettuce or me act as her personal assistant." The red-haired girl once again saw the jealous rage rise in Mint's dark eyes, but she continued, "Maybe Lettuce is there where she's working today." She took the phone again, and called again. And this time, there was an answer. And Ichigo said, "Lettuce, are you with Zakuro?"

The was silence for a few seconds, and then Ichigo said, "Just ten minutes ago? Do you know where she is? Can you get to her?" Again some seconds of silence, and then Ichgo said, "Lettuce, transform as soon as you can, and get to Zakuro as quickly as you can. Kisshu's back, and we think he's after Zakuro. And Lettuce – be careful. He's up to no good. He raped Mint and Berry last night, and stole their pendants."

This time the answer was shouted, and Mint could hear the word "raped" over Ichigo's phone. "Yes, Lettuce. Now move it! Zakuro's in danger, and her phone's off. I'll call all the others. Bye!"

Then Ichigo turned to Mint. "Minto, do you want to stay? I'm going to call the others now, but before they come, this will not be a very safe place. You said that you told the bastard to come here, and you don't have your pendant."

Mint stood as if paralyzed. She wanted to stay, in case any news came in about Zakuro. And if that evil alien showed up, she wanted some part in destroying him, even if she could do little without her pendant. So Ichigo said, "Minto, when we find out anything at all about Zakuro-san, I'll call you right away. You still have the same phone number, the one they have here?"

Mint nodded. She really wanted to stay, but she knew that things were bad enough at home, and she had to get back before she was missed. And she could not bear the thought of that disgusting skank Ichigo finding out about her misadventures with her father's car, and with the police. So finally she said, "I'll call a taxi." And she did.

Meanwhile, Ichigo called the rest of them: Ryou, Keiichiro, Pudding, and Aoyama-kun. She got all of them except Keiichiro; she left a message on his voice mail. Then she kissed her pendant and said, "Mew Mew Strawberry, metamorpho-sis!" And spinning in the air, she transformed into Mew Ichigo, her magical alter-ego. If that alien pervert showed up at the cafe, she would be ready.

In a few minutes Mint's taxi arrived, and she left without another word. She had said enough to that hateful Ichigo. And she had succeeded in getting a warning out as far as she could. The skank had indicated that Lettuce had seen her beloved idol just shortly before. She was safe, or would be soon. She entered the taxicab and was driven away.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **

It was less than five minutes later that the front door opened and the Blue Knight strode in. "Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo half-shouted, and she raced into his arms.

The Knight looked into the eyes if the girl he loved, and asked quietly, "Was everything you said true?"

Ichigo nodded, but said nothing.

And the Blue Knight said, "I really want to stay here with you. But I have to go somewhere else."

"Where?" the cat-girl demanded.

And the blond hero said, "Someone has to keep him from getting on his spaceship and flying back to Lovatron. And that's me."

"How? How can you stop him?" Ichigo asked.

And her beloved answered, "I'm alien in this form, remember? I can instinctively detect his spaceship. And I can teleport there. If he tries to escape – unless he's already gone, and he probably isn't, because he doesn't have the Mew Aqua yet – I'll be waiting for him when he gets up there."

"And what will you do then?" Ichigo demanded.

The Knight's blue eyes stared into Mew Ichigo's pink ones. And he asked her: "Did he really rape Mint and Berry last night?"

Ichigo nodded, and then added, "They were drunk, and they put up no resistance. He stole their pendants, too."

The Blue Knight nodded, and then said abruptly: "I'll kill him."

Then he teleported away and was gone.


	5. Sweet Revenge, Bitter Revenge

**Chapter 5: Sweet Revenge, Bitter Revenge  
**

Fujiwara Zakuro sighed deeply, breathing the fresh ocean air, smelling the tang of salt in it. Filming on location was a lot of work, but there were rewards, especially at times like this one, when they had finished filming for the day. The next day they would be back at the studio, but now Zakuro could stroll alone through the well-kept trees and grass, and gaze out over the ocean. She had been wearing a bikini in the last scene, and when it was done, she had just thrown on a shirt and without buttoning it, had walked off into the soft summer air and the soft sunlight of the late afternoon. It was a really nice perk of the actress's job, to come to places like this one.

And this was especially true for actresses like Zakuro. She knew that she didn't get the "heavy" acting jobs. She was too young and too pretty, and she had a fan base that was on the average too young for "serious" films. She was wanted a lot for action films – she had played a dozen different versions of "Kung-Fu Zakuro." And they wanted her for those historical dramas, where she got to play Princess So-And-So in all of her incarnations; and usually Princess So-And-So turned out to be just another version of Kung-Fu Zakuro, anyway. And then they wanted her for movies like this one, which were officially romantic comedies, but were really just excuses to get her into a bikini. And often these movies turned her into Kung-Fu Zakuro; surely, this one did. She knew the feminists would say that these movies exploited her, getting her to show off her body for young males. Zakuro really didn't care. The girls wanted the romantic movies, and the boys wanted to see Zakuro in a bikini; and so these movies sold well. And when they filmed on location, she got to work in wonderful places like this one. The work was easy, and the pay was more than good.

Oh, they wanted her to make other kinds of movies, too: movies where she would wear noticeably less than a bikini. But she had always said no to those, even though they paid quite a bit more than the movies she actually made. She had drawn a line, and would not cross it – it was a rather religious conviction with her. And occasionally she had been offered roles in some really nasty films, outright _hentai._ The last time a man had offered her one of those, she had slapped his face so hard that she had broken his nose. And the word had gotten around; so she didn't get those kinds of offers any more.

No, she thought, sighing again and smiling to herself. She didn't need those sorts of things in her life. This life she had was good just as it was, almost too good.

And then she heard a voice, a nasty, sneering voice. She turned, and saw him: tall, pale, with long extended ears and amber eyes with narrow-slit pupils, like a cat's. His face, as nearly always, was twisted in a smirk, a smirk that showed his small fangs. It was the alien, Kisshu.

The alien strutted up. His eyes swept over Zakuro, their gaze caressing lasciviously the curves of her body. Then he spoke: "Wolf girl, I was told you have some Mew Aqua. You'll give it to me now, won't you?"

Zakuro's sapphire eyes grew hard and very dark, and she set her chin. "Never, you filth! Now get lost!"

But Kisshu just shrugged, and still smirking, said, "I didn't think you would. Too bad for you; I would have given you a _big_ reward." Then suddenly his _sai_ daggers appeared in his hands, and he launched himself at Zakuro!

Zakuro was quick. Her pendant, which had hung around her neck, was already in her hand, and she kissed it and began, _"Mew Mew Zakuro, metamor…"_ But she never finished the words, as the alien leaped upon her. She grabbed his wrists and tried to keep the weapons away from her body. And she was tall for a Japanese, and strong, and athletic. But he was taller, and stronger, and as they wrestled, he tore his right arm free from her grip, and cruelly drove his weapon through her body.

Zakuro fell to the sand, her hands trying desperately but uselessly to hold in the life blood that poured from her torn belly. And the victorious alien stood over her and kicked her, and gloated as he said, "I owed you that, whore! Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" Then he bent over and tore the shirt from her, exposing her pendant, and one other thing: a tiny vial that hung on a fine chain around her neck, below the pendant. He seized the vial, and held it up. Whatever was in it glowed faintly.

"Yes! Yes! Mew Aqua!" he half-shouted. He literally danced for joy for a second, and then he once more bent down and gloated over the dying woman. Once again his eyes swept over her, and he smirked and said, "You know, you'd be a _really_ fun toy to play with, a lot more fun than the others." Then his face twisted into an obviously-fake frown. "But it would be too messy, you know, with all that blood. So I'll just take this!" And he tore the pendant from around Zakuro's neck.

And then the alien said, "I suppose I shouldn't leave a witness alive, in case they somehow find you before you bleed out. So I guess now I'll finish you off!" And he reversed the _sai_ in his left hand, to drive it through the helpless, dying Zakuro's heart.

But just then, his sensitive alien ears heard another voice: _"Ribbon: Lettuce Rush!"_ He looked up too late, and the water blast sent him flying, and then tumbling across the sandy ground. He was stunned for a second, and when he looked up; he saw his tormentor: green hair, green eyes, green outfit. It was Mew Lettuce, and she was spinning in the air again, to launch another attack! Normally Kisshu would have enjoyed the challenge of fighting this rival, but he had been taken by surprise and already suffered too much damage. So he opened a transport gate and teleported away, just as Lettuce let fly her second Rush attack. And this time, the water blast hit nothing.

Then all was silent. Lettuce looked around herself, but the alien had fled. She knew that he could reappear at any time, and take her by surprise, but she did not care. She ran up to her fallen friend, at the same time dialing 1-1-9 on her cell phone. She shouted at the operator. "Help! Emergency! A stabbing, assault, a girl's bleeding all over, dying! Just off the beach, straight down from the east end of Sakura Avenue, maybe a hundred meters from the end of the pavement! Help, she's dying!" She left the phone on, and the operator tried to speak soothingly, to calm her; but Lettuce did not listen. She fell to her knees beside the fallen Zakuro, and seizing the torn shirt, she tried to stanch the bleeding.

Zakuro's face was gray; she was going into shock. She managed a tiny bit of a smile at Lettuce and whispered weakly, "I'm done, Lettuce-chan. Go warn the others. He'll…" Her voice grew weaker, and her eyes closed. Then she forced them open again. "Lettuce, he'll go… after… Ichigo. Warn… her." Her eyes closed again. Her breathing was shallow, gasping, irregular. In the distance Lettuce could hear the sound of a siren, coming fast. Then one last time Zakuro's eyes opened. "Tell them all… tell them I loved them all, I will love them… for… ever." Then her eyes closed and did not open.

Lettuce seized her by the shoulders and screamed. "Zakuro! Don't you die on me! Fight it, Zakuro, help is coming! Fight it! You've never quit on anything! Don't you quit on me!" The tears were streaming down Lettuce's cheeks, dripping on Zakuro's body, mixing with her blood. "Zakuro! Fight it! Don't die on me! We need you, Zakuro! Zakuro!"

Then she heard voices. Two policemen were running up, and looking behind them, Lettuce could see the paramedics running up with their equipment. Then the police lifted her up and took her back, letting the emergency personnel do their thing. In a second they had the oxygen mask on her, and in a few more seconds the IV needle was going in to give her plasma. One of them looked up at the weeping Lettuce and said, "You did really well with the direct pressure on the wound, but it's hard to stop bleeding from an abdominal wound that way."

Through her tears Lettuce gasped the question: "Is she alive?"

The paramedic said, "So far. But barely. She's in shock, but she hasn't lost enough blood yet to kill her." They were wrapping something tightly against the wounds – one in the front, one in the back. Then two more paramedics ran up with a stretcher, and they began loading her onto that.

One of the policemen asked Lettuce, "Do you know who did this?"

Lettuce nodded. "I saw him. A guy, young, tall, thin, pale…"

"Hair?"

"Green. I mean real green, dark green, not like this." Lettuce touched her own hair.

"Eyes?"

"I'll never forget them. Amber. Never saw any other eyes that color," Lettuce muttered.

"Your name?"

"Lettuce. Midorikawa Lettuce."

"Did you know the victim?"

"Yes. It's the actress, Fujiwara Zakuro. They're filming a movie here."

The policeman's eyes flew wide open at Zakuro's name, and he took a good look at the girl on the stretcher. "You're right! I should have recognized her, she's so famous." Then he got all businesslike again. "Your relationship to her?"

"Friend," Lettuce muttered. Then she added, "I'm her personal assistant."

"What's the strange get-up for?" the policeman then asked. Lettuce was still transformed, with bright green hair and eyes, and clothed in her Mew Mew outfit.

Lettuce hesitated only a second. "Movie make-up," she said.

Attracted by the sirens, several of the movie crew were running up. When they saw that Zakuro was hurt, they began shouting and carrying on, and the other policeman had to hold them back. Then the paramedics picked up the stretcher and began carrying Zakuro away. Lettuce began to follow, but the policeman stopped her. "We're not done with you yet."

"I have to go with her!" Lettuce yelled.

But the policeman said, "I'll take you there, when we're done here."

So Lettuce quieted herself for a second, but her eyes were on Zakuro as they carried her to the ambulance. Then the policeman asked, "Did you see the perp do it?"

Lettuce turned her head away from the disappearing stretcher and back to the policeman. "Ah, no," she said. "When I came up, she was already down and bleeding. He was leaning over her, and robbing her of some things she was wearing, jewelry stuff."

"Then you don't know for certain that the man you saw was the attacker?"

Letttuce thought for a second. "He had those daggers, those ninja things, what do you call them? _Sai,_ I think. And I could see the blood on one of them. He noticed me when I yelled."

"Which way did he go?"

Lettuce pointed to where Kisshu had disappeared. "That way. I couldn't pursue him, I had to take care of Zakuro, she was bleeding out, dying."

The policeman nodded. "There will be more questions later. Other officers are arriving, and a detective has been called. We will search the area for clues. Meanwhile, I'll take you…"

"Am I under arrest?" Lettuce gasped.

But the policeman shook his head. "No, I'll take you to the hospital to be with your friend. I'll need to get your full name, address, phone, all of that. You're the main witness in a murder, or at least, an attempted murder."

Lettuce thought for a second. "Could I have three or four minutes to get out of this weird get-up? That's all it will take."

The policeman nodded. "I'll stand outside the door. And don't try to run. You try to run, you change from key witness to prime suspect."

Lettuce nodded, and they headed for the movie-company vans. Actually, Lettuce could transform to her normal self in a second. She needed the three minutes alone to make phone calls. The others needed to know what happened, and they needed to know right now.


	6. A Most Wonderful Secret

**Chapter 6: A Most Wonderful Secret  
**

Mew Ichigo stopped her pacing and looked at the clock on the wall. It was just past six o'clock, but it seemed that she had waited here for hours and hours. All the others were gone to the hospital to try to see Zakuro. Ichigo was so worried about her! They hadn't called her with bad news yet, so maybe she still clung to life. And Ichigo knew that there was nothing that she could do for Zakuro even if she went. But she wanted to go anyway. She was so worried!

And she was worried about Aoyama-kun. She hoped that he had made it up to the alien space ship. He had said that as the Blue Knight he could, and was confident that he could. But even if he had made it there, now he waited there alone for that evil Kisshu. And when Kisshu came, they would fight – fight to the death. He had fought with Kisshu before, and had always been able to get the better of him. But Kisshu was good at fighting, and merciless. If they fought, would Aoyama win this time, as he had before? Or would he fail this time? If he failed, he would die. She so wanted to be up there with him, to protect him! But she could not teleport, and could not get to the space ship. So she waited, and worried.

They had been surprised when she had told them she would not go to the hospital with them. She had told them that she would wait at the café, in case Kisshu showed up there. That was only half of the truth: she was grimly sure that he would show up at the café, if she were alone. She could not imagine that Kisshu would come to earth and score such a string of perverted victories – the conquest of Mint and Berry, and the bloody conquest of Zakuro – and not try to meet with her and indulge his most perverted obsession. In fact, it disturbed her deeply to think that he would score Mint and Berry, and not try to get her. It was Ichigo that he had always lusted for, and Ichigo's pendant was the trophy that he wanted above all others. She was sure he would come, so she waited, alone. But she was so worried about Zakuro, and about her beloved Aoyama-kun!

She whispered a prayer for them. Ichigo wasn't religious, but at times like this she had to believe that there was Someone up there watching over her, watching over them. She had prayed at that Christmas two years ago, when Aoyama-kun had been so badly hurt; and it seemed her prayers had been answered. And so she whispered her prayer for Zakuro, and for Aoyama.

And then the door opened.

She had expected he would teleport in, but he came strutting in the front door, with that nasty smirk on his face. One look told Ichigo that his conquests had inflated his already swollen ego far more than before. She just stood there, fully transformed, her body tense and ready from the top of her cat's ears to the tip of her cat's tail. In silence, she let him strut up.

And then he spoke, in that half-sneering, half-playful voice he used so well: "Kitten! How's my favorite toy?" He looked around the room. "Poor little kitten, left all alone! Well, You'll be alone no longer!" And his _sai_ daggers appeared in his hands.

Ichigo looked him over. Just looking at him told her clearly what was on his mind. She wanted to let him have the Strawberry Surprise right now. Or did she? She saw the way the light danced in those amber alien eyes, saw the way he moved with such sensual strength and confidence. And so she said a single word: "Kis… shu."

She said the name slowly, her pink eyes sad and filled with loss. The alien stopped and looked at her questioningly.

"Kis…shu," she repeated. "I hoped you would come. But Kisshu…." She became silent and turned half-away from him. "Kisshu, I couldn't believe what I heard. Berry?" She bit her lip. "Minto? _Minto?_" A tear dripped down her cheek. "Kisshu, you always said you loved me! You always said I was your favorite toy! Me_,_ not…" She turned back to the alien and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "… Minto!"

Kisshu stared at her, taken aback by all this. He had clearly expected a fight, and so had come with his _sai_ daggers in his hands. But he now stumbled on a few words as he said, "You said you hated me! Do you forget that?"

She walked up toward him. She was well within range of his daggers, now. "Kis…shu," she said quietly. "You threatened to kill me, tried to kill me, kidnapped me and hauled me off to your world, kept me as a sex slave, and then ignored me most of the time while you ran around with your fangirls. How would anyone not be hurt by that?"

"Then what's different now?" the alien demanded, his eyes still full of distrust.

Ichigo took another step forward, and their bodies touched. Her pure pink eyes stared into his wicked alien eyes. "Kis…shu," she whispered. "No matter how much I've been hurt, no matter how angry I've been with you… Kisshu, there's no one else like you. When I'm in your arms, it's so special. It's like the whole universe is on fire around us, and our fire burns hotter than all the rest! That loser Aoyama is such a dud next to you. Oh Kisshu, if we must fight, before we do, can't we just one more time…" And with pleading eyes she opened her lips to his, and her lips reached up.

Kisshu's _sai_ daggers fell to the floor as his arms encircled the cat-girl. Their lips pressed together, then opened as their tongues met. Kisshu's hands danced all over the girl's body, touching, fondling, while the fire of passion filled the world around them. Then his hands seized the pink minidress that was her Mew Mew outfit. It was strapless, and he began to pull it down.

With an ecstatic smile Ichigo pulled back from the kiss, and staring with a lost look into his eyes, she whispered, "Oh, Kisshu! I have a secret, a wonderful secret for you!"

His breaths were coming in gasps now, and his blood was boiling in his veins. But her eyes were so bewitching, and he whispered back, "… Secret? What is it, my kitten?"

And with that wonderful smile, she whispered, _"…Ribbon."_

It made no sense, and he looked at her, mystified.

She kept smiling, and then whispered again, _"…Strawberry."_

"What…?" he muttered; and he pressed his lips toward hers again.

And then she said aloud, but with the same smile on her lips: _"…SURPRISE!"_

For her Strawberry Bell had appeared in her right hand, and she pressed it hard against his back.

And a horrible river of searing, burning energy poured through his body, energy born of all of the raging emotion in Ichigo's incredible heart: her hatred and anger for this evil alien, her desire for revenge for all he had done and all those he had hurt, and, most of all, her love for her boyfriend, her friends, and her world, all of whom Kisshu had hurt so much. The room filled with scintillating, violent light and sound: sound as of music, yet far more wild and powerful.

And Kisshu screamed as every nerve in his body fried, every organ seemed to be torn apart, and his mind itself seemed to explode. Yet the girl did not stop, but instead held the Strawberry Bell against his back with that same smile on her face, while her enemy withered in agony.

Then the smile faded, and she let the alien fall from her arms, and he crashed to the floor in a heap and lay there, his body literally smoking from the terrible magic burning. Yet he was alive, and somehow conscious, and the cat-girl said: "You bastard! After what you've done to me, after trying to kill me, after trying to destroy my world, after kidnapping me and hauling me away from all those I love, after raping me over and over, after what you did to Minto and Berry…" Then she began screaming. "…After what you did to Zakuro – yes, I know what you did to Zakuro - you think that I would let you have me again? You _stupid_ bastard, if you didn't have an ego twice the size of the universe, you'd have realized I was jerking your chain!"

The defeated alien just moaned in agony, and Ichigo stepped back and picked up his _sai_ daggers. "I'd really love to finish you right now. Finish you with these. I'd love to take the one you stuck into Zakuro, and stick it into you. But… you know how it is. If we kill you, it might start a war with you aliens, and I can't risk that. So instead…"

She held up her Strawberry Bell, and chanted, _"Ribbon: Strawberry… CHECK!"_ And she gave him another dose of magical torture, making sure that she did not finish him off.

Then she took her cell phone and pushed a button. And she said, "Shirogane-san? It's Ichigo. How's Zakuro?" She listened for a few seconds, and a smile split her lips. "Is she conscious?" Again she listened, and the smile grew broader. And then she said, "Ryou, I've got some good news. Please tell her, tell them all – I got the bastard."


	7. Revenge Isn't Always Sweet

**Chapter 7: Revenge Isn't Always Sweet  
**

Mew Ichigo looked up from the desk. She was transformed, just in case something got out of hand. They always kept someone on guard, now, until Pai and Taruto could come to take Kisshu – what was left of him – away. There seemed to be a lot of permanent damage to him – not that he didn't deserve it.

They had handcuffed Kisshu to a thick pipe back in the kitchen. Shirogane had had the handcuffs. Just why Ryou kept a set of handcuffs, Ichigo did not know, and she did not want to know. But the alien could not escape if he was cuffed to the pipe. He could open all the teleport gates he wanted, but he could not pass through them. They had learned that long ago, when Mew Zakuro had caught him with her magical whip as he was escaping through one and pulled him back out. Ichigo knew that she really should have been back there watching him, but she didn't want to see his face, because her heart still burned with anger against him. Besides, she knew her own heart. She feared that if she spent too much time looking at the broken wreckage that had been Kisshu, she might start feeling pity for him. So she remained in the front room sitting at this desk by the door, only peeking in to check on the alien once in a while.

Then the door opened, and someone came in: a short, slight young woman, dark-haired, dark-eyed, wearing a blue dress with a white collar. She stood before the desk, and Ichigo said, without rising to greet her: "Minto."

The dark-haired girl looked down on Mew Ichigo, and said, with great disdain: "Ichigo." Then she asked, "How is Zakuro-san doing? I called the hospital, but no one will tell me anything."

Ichigo allowed herself a small smile. "She's doing really well. The doctors said that the _sai_ that Kisshu stabbed her with was so narrow that there was little chance that it would hit a major artery, and that with modern medicine, that would be about the only way that an abdominal wound would kill her if she got rapid treatment. She did. They did surgery and got all the internal bleeding fixed, and they say that with plastic surgery there won't even be a scar. She might be back to finish filming that movie in a month."

"Well, at least they should have told me something," Mint muttered.

Ichigo replied, "When the world found out that the great idol Fujiwara Zakuro had been assaulted and gravely injured, all hell broke loose at the hospital. All kinds of reporters and such have been trying to get in, all kinds of photographers and such have been trying to get pictures. I understand that over thirteen thousand bouquets of flowers have been delivered for her. The studio is taking care of getting thank-you notes out for the flowers, but so far they're keeping the reporters and photographers out. And so, they keep you at a distance, too."

"Somebody got in,' Mint said, quite offended. "Her picture, with her in the hospital bed, was on the news and in the paper."

"Those pictures – they were from Lettuce's phone camera. Zakuro insisted that Lettuce take them and release them to the press with her statement. Zakuro knew they'd be worth a lot of money, and she wanted Lettuce to have it, as a reward for saving Zakuro's life."

"The paper said that the so-called 'unknown assailant' fled when Lettuce came upon the scene," Mint said.

Ichigo smiled ruefully. "He fled with a Lettuce Rush blast up his butt."

"Good for her," Mint said, with anger. "And now – Shirogane called me, and said you have my pendant."

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "After I fried him with the Strawberry Surprise, I checked, and all of the stolen stuff was on him; three pendants, and Zakuro-san's Mew Aqua fragment." She reached into a desk drawer and took out three pendants. "I don't know which one is yours," she said. "They all look alike."

"I'm surprised you're letting me have mine," Mint said, with some bitterness. "I figured you'd keep it."

"It's yours, Minto, not mine," Ichigo said. She laid the three pendants on the desk in a row.

The dark-haired girl lifted first one pendant, then a second, but felt nothing. But when she took the third, she could feel power coursing through it. And she kissed it, and chanted: "Mew Mew Mint, _metamorpho – sis!_" And she rose into the air, and spinning through a graceful ballet dance, she transformed into Mew Mint.

She settled to the floor before the desk. Both of the girls felt uncomfortable; there was no love lost between them, and in their transformed states, the desire to fight was strong. But Ichigo did not rise from her chair, and Mint said, "Shirogane said that you have him here, keeping him until the other aliens come and take him away."

Ichigo stared at Mint in silence for several seconds. Then she said, "He's in the kitchen, chained to a pipe." Mint began turning away, but Ichigo said, "Minto, don't kill him. Keiichiro says that killing him likely will mean war with the aliens."

Minto nodded, said "OK," and walked through the door into the kitchen.

And then Ichigo heard the chant, "Ribbon: Minto _ECHO!"_ Then a light flashed, and the alien screamed in agony. Then again: "Ribbon: Minto _ECHO!"_ Another flash, another scream. Then the alien's voice, begging, "No! Not there!" But it happened again: another chant, another flash, another scream.

Ichigo rose from her chair. It was becoming clear that Minto would take revenge on Kisshu until the alien was dead. Ichigo raced through the door, just as yet another flash marked another Echo Arrow impact on the alien pervert. Ichigo saw him there on the floor. He looked nearly dead, and Minto was spinning in the air, making another attack. One more hit, Ichigo thought, and it would be over for Kisshu.

She jumped up and grabbed the spinning Mint, and brought her to the floor. "Stop, Minto! You're killing him!" she shouted.

Mint's eyes were wild with anger and hatred. "Get away from me, or I'll do to you what I did to him!" she screamed.

"Minto, you kill him, and it might mean war with the aliens!" Ichigo shouted into Mint's face.

"I don't care!" Mint shouted back.

"Minto! If there's a war, we won't have a chance! We'll all die!

"I told you, bitch! I don't care!" Mint screamed, completely out of control.

Ichigo grabbed the bird-girl by the shoulders and screamed back: "Minto, if there's a war between us and the aliens, Zakuro will fight, and she'll die! Zakuro!"

At Zakuro's name Mint's face changed, and the wild anger left her eyes. She stood there, gasping for breath, and said, weakly: "Zakuro?"

"Come, Minto, I'll take you to see Zakuro, as soon as someone else comes to keep guard over the bastard," Ichigo said quietly. "We'll bring her her pendant and her Mew Aqua."

"I thought you said that Zakuro-san made you promise not to," Mint said.

But Ichigo responded, "I already asked her this morning. She said yes." And she led the gasping, shaking Minto from the kitchen.

And once they were in the main dining room, Mint burst into tears, and collapsed into Ichigo's arms. There she wept uncontrollably, with a long, blubbering stream of words that Ichigo could not understand, save one: the name _Zakuro_, repeated over and over.

Finally Minto stopped crying, and the two girls walked toward the desk. They did not know what to feel. Did they still hate each other, or was that over now? They stared at each other, and then, turned away. And Ichigo asked, "Minto, did you take two pendants? There's only one left here."

"Just one," Mint said.

They looked at each other, mystified. And then, from the kitchen, they heard a voice chanting, "Mew Mew Berry, _metamorpho—sis!"_ They began running to the kitchen, but it was too late.

"_Ribbon: Loveberry CHECK!"_ came the chant from the kitchen, and then a searing blast of light poured out through the kitchen door.

And Ichigo stopped, and turned to Mint, and groaned: "Oh, no!"

**THE END.**

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_**Author's note:**_

_Is Kisshu dead? I leave that up to you._

_If you have read this story and its antecedent ("The Green Monster") you know that I have portrayed Kisshu as a truly evil monster. I am sure this offends his fangirls. I will simply point out that what I have done in these stories is have Kisshu actually do what he attempted or at least threatened in the anime: kidnapping, murder, and "having" Ichigo (I am trying very hard to maintain a minimal "T" rating here, because when you go to "M," you get less readers). I will grant that in the anime his perverted desires seem focused quite exclusively on Ichigo, while I have him be more promiscuous._

_To explain why: I am no longer young, as you might have already figured out. (To find out how someone my age got interested in TMM, check out my forum.) In my career I have had to spend many, many hours in my office working with smashed-up marriages and broken families. And in many of those cases, the marriages smashed up because a woman ignored the boring nice guys and married an exciting bad boy, who then proceeded to be – you guessed it, a bad boy: unfaithful, abusive, controlling, manipulative, dishonest, cruel._

_And then, I discover this web site, and what I see are thousands of examples of "Ichigo dumps the boring nice guy Masaya and runs off with the exciting bad boy, Kisshu." This "exciting bad boy" has tried to kidnap and even kill Ichigo repeatedly, but he's the one the fangirls want. And that disturbs me, so I write stories that pound on Kisshu. Kisshu is one really, really bad alien – and no, I don't think that all changed at the end of the anime. Kisshu-types don't generally change like that. So while his fangirls give him Ichigo over and over, I will give him what I think he really deserves – which is generally something like a Ribbon Strawberry Surprise right between the eyes._

_- tgwWhale_


End file.
